Hospital-Association Committee (a) There shall be a Hospital-Union Committee comprised of representatives of the Hospital, one of whom shall be the Chief Nursing Officer or designate and of the Union, one of whom shall be the Bargaining Unit President or designate. The number of representatives is set out in the Appendix of Local Provisions and the membership of the Committee may be expanded by mutual agreement.
(b) The Committee shall meet every two (2) months unless otherwise agreed and as required under Article 8.01 (a) (iv). The duties of chair and secretary shall alternate between the parties. Where possible, agenda items will be exchanged in writing at least five (5) calendar days prior to the meeting. A record shall be maintained of matters referred to the Committee and the recommended disposition, if any, unless agreed to the contrary. Copies of the record shall be provided to Committee members.
(c) The purpose of the Committee includes:
i) promoting and providing effective and meaningful communication of information and ideas, including but not limited to workload measurement tools and the promotion of best practices. Such communication may include discussion of nursing workload measurement and patient acuity systems. The Hospital will provide, upon request, information on workload measurement systems applicable to nursing currently used by the Hospital, and evaluations completed by the Hospital of such systems.
ii) reviewing professional responsibility complaints with a view to identifying trends and sharing organizational successes and solutions, making joint recommendations on matters of concern including the quality and quantity of nursing care and discussing the development and implementation of quality initiatives;
iii) making joint recommendations to the Chief Nursing Officer on matters of concern regarding recurring workload issues including the development of staffing guidelines, the use of agency nurses and use of overtime;
iv) dealing with complaints referred to it in accordance with the provisions of Article 8, Professional Responsibility;
v) discussing and reviewing matters relating to orientation and in- service programs;
vi) promote the creation of full-time positions for nurses, and discuss the effect of such changes on the employment status of the nurses. This may include the impact, if any, on part-time and full-time, job sharing and retention and recruitment.
(d) The Hospital agrees to pay for time spent during regular working hours for representatives of the Union attending at such meetings.
(e) Where a Committee representative designated by the Union attends Committee meetings outside of her or his regularly scheduled hours, she or he will be paid for all time spent in attendance at such meetings at her or his regular straight time hourly rate of pay. Such payment shall be limited to two (2) Committee representatives per meeting.
